This species occurs in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, India (Nicobar Islands), Indonesia (including Bali, Bangka, the Batu Islands, Bawean, Belitung, Java, Kalimantan Borneo, the Kangean Islands, Karimata, Karimunjawa, Lingga, Lombok, the Natuna Islands, Nias, Nusatenggara, the Riau Archipelago, Simeulue, Sumatra, Sumba, Sumbawa, and Timor), Lao PDR, Malaysia (including the Peninsula as well as Sabah and Sarawak Borneo), Myanmar (including the Mergui Archipelago), the Philippines (Balabec, Basilan, Cagayan Sulu, Culion, Jolo, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan, and Samar), Singapore, Thailand (including offshore islands), Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. On mainland Southeast Asia, there is a hybrid zone with Macaca mulata in central areas that makes it difficult to determine the northern limits of its range. The species has been introduced to Kabeana Island, Indonesia, the Pacific island of Palau, Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, and to New Guinea (Groves 2001) (these introduced populations are not included in the distribution map).

M. f. fascicularis
Occurs in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia (including Bali, Bangka, the Batu Islands, Bawean, Java, Kalimantan Borneo, Karimata, Lingga, the Natuna Islands, Nias, Nusatenggara, the Riau Archipelago, Sumatra, Sumba, and Timor), Malaysia (including the peninsula as well as Sabah and Sarawak Borneo), the Philippines (western Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago), Singapore, southern Thailand (including offshore islands), and southern Viet Nam (Groves 2001).

M. f. aureus
Occurs in southernmost Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Myanmar (including the Mergui Archipelago) and west-central Thailand (Groves 2001).

M. f. umbrosus
Occurs on Nicobar Islands of India (Little Nicobar, Great Nicobar and Katchall), where it is found up to 600 m (Umapathy et al. 2003; Molur et al. 2003; Groves 2001).

M. f. fuscus
Occurs on Pulau Simeulue, off the northwestern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia (Groves 2001).

M. f. condorensis
Occurs on Con Son Island, off the coast of southern Viet Nam (Groves 2001).

M. f. tua
Occurs on Pulau Maratua, east of Borneo, Indonesia (Groves 2001).

M. f. philippensis
Occurs in the Philippines. Found on the islands of Balabac, Basilan, Biliran, Bohol, Busuanga, Camiguin, Catanduanes, Culion, Leyte, Luzon, northeastern Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Panay, Palawan, Samar and Sibuyan (Groves 2001; Heaney et al. 1998).

M. f. lasiae
Occurs on Pulau Lasia, off the northewestern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia (Groves 2001).

M. f. karimondjawae
Occurs on Pulau Karimunjawa and (probably) nearby Pulau Kemujan, Java Sea, Indonesia (Groves 2001).

M. f. atriceps
Occurs on Khram Yai Island, off the southeastern coast of Thailand (Groves 2001).

Long tailed or crab eating macaques (Macaca fascicularis) are found in southeast Asia from Burma to the Philippines and southward through Indochina, Malaysia, and Indonesia. They are found as far east as the Timor Islands.

Biogeographic Regions: oriental (Native )

The body fur of long-tailed macaques tends to be grey-brown to reddish brown. These colors are always paler ventrally. The face is brownish-grey with cheek whiskers. The eyes are directed forward for binocular vision. The nose is flat and the nostrils are narrow and close together (catarrhine condition). Long-tailed macaques have shovel-shaped incisors, conspicuous canines, and bilophodont molars. The tooth formula is I 2/2, C 1/1, PM 2/2, and M 3/3.

The body length, not including the tail, is 40 to 47 cm. The greyish- brown or reddish colored tail is 50 to 60 cm. Long-tailed macaques exhibit sexual dimorphism in size. The average weight for males is 4.8 to 7 kg and 3 to 4 kg for females, approximately 69% of average male weight.

Range mass: 3 to 7 kg.

Range length: 40 to 47 cm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

Long-tailed macaques are "ecologically diverse." Some of the habitats in which they have been found are primary forests, disturbed and secondary forests, and riverine and coastal forests of nipa palm and mangrove. Long-tailed macaques live most successfully in disturbed habitats and on the periphery of forests.

In Sumatra, they achieve their highest population densities in mixed mangrove swamps, secondary hill forests, and riverine forests. Some were also observed in freshwater swamps, scrub grassland, lowland primary forests, and rubber groves.

In Thailand, long-tailed macaques occur in evergreen forests, bamboo forests, and in deciduous forests.

In Malaysia, they are abundant in coastal lowland forests.

This species has been observed drinking much water and eating crabs, they often live near bodies of water. Of the various habitats occupied by long-tailed macaques, the swamp forests seem to have the highest density of them.

In recent years, habitat alteration has expanded the range of some populations of long-tailed macaques. In Malaysia, cleared land, such as plantation areas, has been colonized by this species. It has been observed that some disturbed habitats have higher troop and population sizes than some pristine forests.

This species has the highest degree of arboreality of all macaque species. One study of long-tailed macaque behavior reported that they never came to the ground except within 5 m of the edge of a river near their tree. The population densities of this diurnal species vary from 10 to 400 per squared kilometer.

Habitat Regions: tropical ; terrestrial

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest ; scrub forest

Aquatic Biomes: coastal ; brackish water

Wetlands: swamp

Other Habitat Features: agricultural ; riparian

Long-tailed macaques are omnivores, and exploit many different food types, reflecting the diversity of habitats they can utilize. The average length of feeding bouts is 18.3 minutes. There may be on average of twenty bouts per day. They eat a wide variety of foods such as fruits, crabs, flowers, insects, leaves, fungi, grasses, and clay. Clay may be eaten for the potassium found in it, although the potassium levels in the clay are low. However, 96% of the feeding time per day is spent eating fruit. Some limited observations suggest that long-tailed macaques select fruit based on ripeness, which is based on color.

Animal Foods: insects; aquatic crustaceans

Plant Foods: leaves; fruit; flowers

Other Foods: fungus

Primary Diet: omnivore

To the extent that these animals are prey for other species, they may affect populations of those species. Macaca fascicularis may be an important predator in its ecosystem, and may have some impact on prey species.

The predators of this species have not been reported.

As in other species of the genus Macaca, it is likely that these animals use a combination of visual (facial expression, body postures), auditory (vocalizations), physical (grooming, play, mating, aggression) and possible chemical (olfactory) signals as a part of their repertoire of communication.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic

Although the lifespan of this species has not been reported, it is likely to resemble that of other members of the genus, which seem able to obtain an maximum age of around 30 years in captivity.

Average lifespan

Sex: female

Status: captivity: 25.0 years.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 38.0 years.

Average lifespan

Status: captivity: 37.1 years.

Maximum longevity: 39 years (captivity) Observations: One wild born male lived 37.1 years in captivity, making it as old as 39 when he died (Richard Weigl 2005).

In Sumatra, each social group of these monkeys contains an average of 5.7 males and 9.9 adult females. Although females outnumber males, indicating that males have more mates available to them than do females, both sexes may mate with multiple partners. However, the alpha male, or highest ranking male, of the group has the greatest access to mates of any males, and probably sires the most offspring.

Mating System: polygynous ; polygynandrous (promiscuous)

Males reach sexual maturity at approximately 6 years of age, whereas females mature by about 4 years of age. Higher-ranking females become reproductively mature before lower-ranking females. The offspring of these higher-ranking females have a greater chance of survival than do the offspring of lower-ranking females. Both of these phenomena are related to the greater food availability and decreased amount of aggression experienced by the higher ranking females.

Female long-tailed macaques show a conspicuous cyclicity of sexual behavior during their menstrual cycle. As they approach ovulation, females experience a swelling of the skin in the perineal region. However, there has been no direct correlation between the frequency of copulation and the degree of swelling of genital tissues. This concealment of ovulation could exist in order to persuade consorting males to stay with females longer.

As a side effect of the prolonged estrus period and concealment of ovulation, it is difficult for humans to estimate the length of gestation. However, it seems likely that the gestation averages approximately 162 days. The average interbirth intervasl is approximately 390 days, indicating that females can produce young each year if high ranking, and every other year otherwise.

Young are nursed until they are approximately 420 days of age. The average interbirth interval is reported to be 390 days, which is less than the average time until weaning. Both the length of nursing and the interbirth interval may be affected by the rank of the mother.

It is known that the births in this species peak from May to July, corresponding with the rainy season.

Breeding interval: Females have an average interbirth interval of 390 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Average gestation period: 162 days.

Average weaning age: 420 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 4 years.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 6 years.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); viviparous

Average birth mass: 320 g.

Average gestation period: 165 days.

Average number of offspring: 1.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)

Sex: male: 1544 days.

Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)

Sex: female: 1238 days.

As in all primates, there is an extended period of juvenile dependence. Females provide the bulk of the care for offspring. The young receive nourishment, encouragement, grooming, protection, and teaching from the mother. Young females are likely to remain in the troup into which they were born, whereas males are likely to emmigrate at or near sexual maturity.

Parental Investment: altricial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning; inherits maternal/paternal territory; maternal position in the dominance hierarchy affects status of young

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species. 

 
There are 2 barcode sequences available from BOLD and GenBank.  Below is a sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen and other sequences.
 

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Species: 4
Species With Barcodes: 1

There are nine national parks, nine reserves, and two sanctuaries in which some long-tailed macaques reside. Regardless of the type of habitat, there must be at least 500 squared kilometers of habitat necessary to support a viable population of 5,000 long-tailed macaques. This is the minimum size for a reserve for this species.

Long-tailed macaques receive some protection in temple ruins in Thailand and protection and food in temples in Bali. In Malaysia, long-tailed macaques are legally protected, and they are fed and protected in urban forests and parks. In the Philippines, there is much interest in protecting this species. In Indonesia, the species is well-protected, but some of the reserves are being considered for oil drilling and harvesting. Some people in Bali, in fact, consider these primates to be sacred. This may increase the chances of their survival in these reserves. In Thailand, long-tailed macaques may be hunted, captured, or kept in captivity only under license. The export of this species is regulated by a quota system.

Although there are some sanctuaries for long-tailed macaques, hunting is still a problem. In Thailand and Borneo, they are hunted for food. This species is also killed because it is a pest to agriculture. The fact that these macaques destroy crops has prevented some governments from making serious conservation efforts. Long-tailed macaques are collected for medical research. They are one of the five most used primate species in medical research. Many of these macaques were exported to the United States and Great Britian. Habitat loss in these organisms is occurring due to extensive logging operations.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: appendix ii

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Conservation Actions

Long-tailed macaques have been known to feed in cultivated fields on such items as young dry rice, cassava leaves, rubber fruit, taro plants, and other crops. They also take food from graveyards, garbage cans, and garbage pits. They have also become involved in aggresive interactions with people.

Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease); crop pest

Long-tailed macaques, along with other species of macaques, have benefited humans through their use as research models in immunology, surgery, toxicology, and pharmacology. They are also important members of ecosystems and may serve as a basis for ecotourism ventures. They are sometimes still hunted for food.

Positive Impacts: food ; ecotourism ; research and education